


Project: Chameleon

by Rizzey97



Series: The Projects of Marvel [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Slight MCU AU, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Winter Soldier - Fandom
Genre: Action, Adult Content, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Comedy, Developing Friendships, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Love/Hate, Memory Loss, Nat and Tony are dead, Past Relationship(s), Rescue Missions, Steve Rogers is alive and well, Strained Friendships, Swearing, Undercover Missions, random stuff, slight AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:35:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29409195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rizzey97/pseuds/Rizzey97
Summary: She was Anya Volkov or as others would have called her, The Chameleon. He had a vibranium arm and his name was James Buchanan Barnes. They both have lost something for 60 years of living, Anya lost her most precious memories and James has lost the woman he once loved unconditionally. Now they are working together as a team to help each other recover what they once lost and rebuild what they once had alongside overcoming challenges such as betrayal, hate, and trauma together.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Sam Wilson/Original Female Character (Platonic), Steve Rogers/Original Female Character (Platonic)
Series: The Projects of Marvel [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160471
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Project: Chameleon

The woman sat down on the couch with a heavy thump and rested her feet on the mahogany coffee table and sighed. Her bob hairstyle was messy and her chest heaved heavily. Her eyes were light emerald green and seemed quite tired as they were red-ish on the white area. The woman wore a no-sleeved large black hoodie and a pair of gray sweatpants that hung loosely around her waist. _She_ was Anya Volkov or as others would have called her, _The Chameleon_. 

It was early morning in Stockholm, where she was living at the time, she was getting used to the civilization and the culture in the country. She was watching the news like she did every morning, getting adapted to how the Swedes lived and taught herself new things all the time.  
  


“The murder of Miss and Mister Jansson had been world-known and while they were making autopsy of the bodies they have discovered a poison that the Russians used during the 20th century, called ‘Paralyzer’,” the reporter spoke in Swedish and Anya understood everything she said without issues, “They have also found a letter resting in Miss Jansson’s hand that was written in Russian.” 

Anya got up from the couch and grabbed her laptop to check the news, she found the news and there was an article about the letter specifically, she read what it said, “Greetings from the Chameleon.” 

She blanched immediately and shut the laptop, she started breathing heavily again and decided to keep her head low to see how many organizations would be connected to the case. The next thing she did was to go to the kitchen and grab some juice as a morning routine she had since she fled _the_ facility. 

The sun shone through the curtains into her eyes, the sun’s rays reflected beautifully in her eyes as she continued to take small sips, she checked the fridge for any food and decided to go to the store in a hurry to buy everything that she needed. 

After half an hour of shopping for groceries, she arrived at the checkout and everyone talked about the murder of Miss and Mister Jansson, which was not surprising. 

The cashier told her how much everything cost in Swedish crowns. 

“Shouldn’t you have some real solid food?” The cashier asked curiously with a shy tone to it. 

Anya shook her head, “I am on a diet,” she signed with her hands and smiled, the cashier nodded.

“Alright, if you say so," the cashier added and smiled, “Have a good day, hun.” 

“You too,” Anya signed and blushed shyly. 

She left the store and walked down the street with a bag of yogurts, juices, fruits, and greens. The only thing that she heard was the echo of the same subject, the murder of Miss and Mister Jansson. The couple was a part of the Swedish-American embassy, to help establish a better partnership between the two countries, only for the organization S.H.I.E.L.D, aka _Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate,_ to start catching war criminals of different sorts. According to Anya, the organization was only annoying and stubborn.

She packed everything up in the fridge and the fruits in a fruit bowl, then she went to take a fast shower just to get herself cleaned up from all the sweat. Anya took her clothes off and threw them into the washing machine, there was a large scar on her back where the spine was as if she had surgery of some sort. Her body was curvy but still broad, her muscles were toned and barely seen through the skin. She had a few scars on different areas, like the triceps, waist, hips, and thighs, she had one on her shoulder too.  
  


The water washed over her warm body, making her relax beneath it. She leaned against the wall with one hand, her nails were long and rounded, she had a crimson nail polish covering them. She let the water pour down her face. Her mind started to bring up a tornado of thoughts, they were only the worrying and the anxiety-inducing ones. 

_What if someone tries to frame me? What if I did it without knowing? Wait, I don’t… I don’t have the poison, do I? Gosh, if I could just remember if I did bring it with me…_

She swallowed and exhaled trying to relax her thoughts, Anya then realized how many missing memory fragments she had, she could not comprehend what they did to her back in the days. It was pure torture, one that she would never forget, but that was why she forgot the more important things she should have kept in mind. 

Anya smacked her hand onto the wall in rage but also in disappointment, _Goddamnit, Anya! Get your fucking shit together otherwise, you won’t be coming anywhere!_ _Curse this fucking tongue when I can’t use it!_

Her eyes changed color, they were now fiery red, as if madness overwhelmed over her at that moment, there was a burning rage inside of her and she was waiting for the moment when she would start melting.  
  


She walked out of the shower and grabbed her towel and dried herself rapidly before grabbing her black bathrobe that had red silk inside of it. Anya grabbed another towel so she could make a turban on her head. 

Afterward, she grabbed her computer and started writing in an own document of the murders of important people, this was the first murder that was _s_ __eemingly_ _ framed onto her. Although, the previous assassinations had “The Paralyzer” also involved, which she found to be odd. It was _her_ poison that someone was using, everything pointed to framing but she could not comprehend why someone would sign as it was her. 

She leaned back into the chair and sighed, _what should I do?_ Her thoughts started to make a loud anxiety-inducing roaring sound that killed the silence around her. 

Her fingers tapped against the backrest while she was thinking of an idea as she knew that S.H.I.E.L.D would come after her someday. She grabbed her phone and tapped in the number of her landlord, shakingly holding her phone. Then she erased it and decided to message him. 

<<Hey Viktor, it's me, Anya Volkov, could you please come over when you can to my apartment with someone who knows sign language? I'm in need of help with a private thing. Regards, Anya.>>

She wrote everything in fluent Swedish and now she was waiting for a response, her leg shook beneath the table and she was chewing on her nails nervously until her phone vibrated. 

<<Hello, Anya! Yes, I will be over at your place around lunchtime if that is fine for you? Regards, Viktor>>

<<Yes, that works well.>>

<<Great I will see you by then!>>

She exhaled in relief and smiled, trying to figure out what she should tell her landlord and to not make herself look too suspicious. Her thoughts were racing and she kept thinking of big dirty lies that she could use on him, but she felt as if she was betraying someone or just herself.

_*Meanwhile in S.H.I.E.L.D:s facility_

The two men stepped into the elevator and leaned against the wall behind them while they were traveling up rapidly. 

“Seems like we screwed up, man,” the darker-skinned male said, his name was Sam Wilson, also known as _Falcon_.

The other male standing by him had a vibranium arm that shimmered in an odd golden shade in the gaps, he had put his hands in front of him, one on the other. 

“Nick didn’t sound mad, Sam,” he replied, the other man was James Buchanan Barnes, his nickname was Bucky or Buck, or many would refer to him as the Winter Soldier. 

“I know, I know, let's just see what he wants,” Sam agreed and sighed while standing with his arms crossed over his chest. 

The elevator door opened with a soft beep to it and both of them stepped out of the elevator, seeing Nick at his office desk, as usual. They approached him and saw him holding a few documents that seemed familiar to James. 

“I called both of you here, despite…” Nick paused and gave the documents to James and glanced at him, “This being your concern…” 

James accepted the documents and observed them, his steel-blue eyes focused well on the papers and pictures. He saw the security camera photos of Anya wearing a hood, her documents, the poison, the letter in Miss Jansson’s hand. Everything connected to her. Something inside of him started to steer and it felt like his airways were clogged from a mysterious pressure of seeing her on the photos and the evidence they had on her. 

“Last time they saw her, she was in Stockholm,” Nick started, “It seems like she is hunting again, Barnes.” 

“Why would she hunt now? She knows about S.H.I.E.L.D-”

“It doesn't matter, Barnes, she is out there and everything we have on her lays in the autopsy and the photos, so what will you do?” 

Sam and James glanced at each other, Sam started, “So we are hunting another Winter Soldier?” 

“Correct,” Nick picked up some more documents on the other victims who had been assassinated with ‘The Paralyzer’ and handed them to James, “Will you find her alive or do we have to send our best agents to kill her, Barnes?” 

“Both,” he paused for a slight second, finders-keepers, am I right?” James answered with a slightly sarcastic tone and walked back to the elevator with the documents in hand. 

Sam followed him tightly into the elevator and James clicked on the ground floor. There was pure silence between the two and James only stared into the door, it seemed as he was in an internal conflict with himself and something was eating him from the inside. Sam saw through him like he was reading an open book. 

“Where are we going?” He asked to break the silence as they stepped out of the elevator, they made their way out of the facility and took the large black SUV that stood parked in front of the door. 

“Making a visit to an old friend of ours,” James replied before starting to drive.

Sam knew exactly who was the old friend and kept quiet, but only nodded as they made it out on the highway.

After 30 minutes of driving, they arrived in front of a few apartment houses, all of the buildings were white and had two doors, one for the apartment below and the top apartment. They took the stairs up to the top apartment and James knocked on the door lightly while waiting for a response, a silhouette made its way to the door and opened it. The familiar face brightened up a bit out of joy even though he seemed tired.

“Buck?” Steve said, “Why are you here so late?” 

“We need your help, Steve,” James replied, Steve only furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and he welcomed them by moving away from the door so they could walk in.  
  
“What’s going on?” He asked and they sat down on the black velvet chairs and couch, occupying the seats well.

James only threw the documents onto the silver coffee table and leaned back in the velvet chair, waiting for Steve to look through them.

“Does she seem familiar to you?” Sam asked with a shady smirk as he always did.

Steve’s joy vanished immediately when he was reading the documents accusations of the woman in the pictures, “She promised me to never hurt anyone anymore.”

“She did?” James asked and glanced at Steve with furrowed eyebrows.

Steve sighed heavily and threw the documents onto the table and leaned back on the couch pinching the bridge of his nose in disappointment, “Yeah, long time ago,” he rubbed his own eyebrows with the index finger and thumb. 

The whole room went silent and the only thing that could be heard was the air conditioning, James stared cold-heartedly at Steve waiting for the response, he expected Steve to deny helping. He saw that Steve was hesitant to help out.

“What did Nick say?” Steve asked and glanced at James while rubbing his beard, then turning to Sam, but Sam was staring at the documents.

“Either we will find her alive or his agents will bring her dead,” James sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, man-spreading as always. 

“I will help, just don’t tell Fury, alright?” 

“Why would we tell him?” Sam curiously questioned and gave a slight but soft glance at Steve that rubbed his hands seemingly nervously. 

Steve only had a half-smile on his lips and he turned to James, “We’re leaving tomorrow to Sweden to find her, it will probably take a while but we will finally have her.” 

Both of the men agreed to what Steve said and they got up, Steve started to pack up the documents, “Keep them,” James commented and they started to head out of the apartment.

Something was eating James from the inside when he saw the accusations and the pictures of Anya. The airways clogged again as if he inhaled something, knowing well that Anya always wanted to flee. He knew her well that she did not want to stay there, in H.Y.D.R.A:s facility;

_The wails of agony echoed throughout the halls of the facility, the Winter Soldier made his way to the torturing room where Anya was chained to the wall. He glared at her vengefully, the two guards unchained her and let her fall to the floor weakly. The Winter Soldier grabbed Anya by her neck and lifted her up against the wall, his lips became a thin line of rage, she struggled heavily and tried to escape._

_She attempted to kick him but failed, her airways started to clog as he gripped tighter around her neck. The world started to darken before her and she kept fighting to get some air through his grip but failed immensely. When the guards observed that she was losing consciousness they ordered him to let go, before he did so, he gave her a punch into the stomach area which made her bend forward and he let her go. She fell to the floor with a heavy thump and a squeaky sound escaped her mouth every time when she exhaled._

_“I hate you!” She yelled in Russian to him, “I hope the day when you die that you will knock at the gates of hell, you disgusting mutt!” Anya let out a screech in the madness at the insanity she was put through._

_The iron door slammed loudly and she still saw his figure in the darkness and, “I hope God will send you where you belong, you H.Y.D.R.A whore!”_

_Her eyes turned fiery red and she kept glaring into the darkness until the guards grabbed a tight grip onto her and carried her to her prison cell where they threw her in and left her inside. Tears started burning behind her eyelids as she tried to get up from her position, but she was weaker than she anticipated._

It seemed as James’s eyes turned lighter remembering what she called him, indicating that she did not remember anything they had between each other. Steve read his face like an open book and knew the pain he felt knowing that Anya did not want to see James. Steve still remembered the talk he and Anya had about James, the horrified expression and the anger she expressed to him, everything came as a slap to the face because James was Steve’s best friend. Lingering anxiety grew inside and Steve had to bring it up.

“Hey, Buck,” Steve paused, “Anya and I talked about you, eight years ago…” Steve started nervously and tried to keep it low with James.

“Talked about _me_?” He repeated, “Why?”

“Anya was…” Steve sighed trying to get the right word for the memory of her expression and her words “Anya _seemed_ distressed,” he corrected himself and nervously corrected his beard a bit, “Because of you.”

“Because of what I did to her?” He asked, it seemed like his eyes were drooping, the regret grew inside of him, although he knew that was not the James everyone knew. 

“Yes, although she was talking to me about how she feels as she’s having a major memory loss,” Steve rested his hands on his hips, “So both of us know what she lost, Buck, but we also know what we lost.” 

Sam stood by the doorframe listening to the two talking, but he paid no mind to the information he could have processed. He only wanted to help his two only friends to find what Nick Fury had ordered them to find, although it was only Buck that got the mission. 

“What do you think of the idea that she can regain what she once had, Steve?” Bucky asked and crossed his arms.

Steve inhaled quickly and exhaled, “Well, first of all, if that is going to happen, we have to catch her before S.H.I.E.L.D does, right?”

“Yeah,” Bucky blanched at the thought of her dying to their hands. 

“Then afterwards we both will regain what we had, both a friend and a wife, but also we will help her regain what she lost throughout the years, her most important memories,” Steve rested his hand on Buck’s shoulder and slightly squeezed it.

Bucky only nodded in agreement with a half-smile, Steve let go of his shoulder and Bucky made his way out of the apartment. Not a single word left any of their mouths, instead, Steve closed the door after them and returned to bed. Bucky drove Sam home and saw that it was late midnight on the car’s touchscreen.

  
After driving for 15 minutes, he parked on his own parking spot for his apartment and sat quietly for himself in the car. He fiddled around on his phone and found the photo of Anya and him, remade into a modern version, her elegant white long dress hugged her waist tightly. She seemed over-joyous on the picture, Bucky’s hands rested on her broad hips, as he held her close to himself as if she was about to flee from his grip, but that was incorrect, she felt safe from the world in his arms. He still remembered when she told him that, the first night of marriage. 

He sunk into the seat staring at the photo, Bucky had a little hope left for Anya and getting back _the_ Anya who he knew. His airways once again tightened as he thought back to the many summers they spent together and how many times the summer rains had caught up to them and made them wet as if they took a clear shower with the clothes on. Although, they only laughed at that and seemed more than happy.

Bucky inhaled heavily and his lower lip trembled slightly, he could never show that side of him, that side that always ached, that was wounded, the one that had to be mended if possible, by Anya. He sniffled but no tears burned beneath his eyelids, the slight ache in his chest burned and his airways were clogged once again as if he had some sort of lung disease. 

He put his phone away and got out of the car drastically, making his way to the mailbox, picking up the mail he got, one of them was odd which made him furrow his eyebrows at the sight of it. He went up to his apartment and walked in, it was an all-open apartment with led lights on the roof and beneath the window sills. Then he walked to the kitchen and left the mail there and went to the bedroom. The door slid so it closed him in and he started to change, in the light his arm seemed to have a golden glow and it was black originally. His muscular features were lean but slightly bulky, for being a man of 260 pound-mass. He stretched his broad shoulders and sat down on the bed shirtless.

  
Bucky undid his pants and laid down in bed with his stomach down and buried his face into the gray pillow, having flashbacks and memories of Anya, the memories that tormented him for a long time and they still do. Now when he had the chance to find her, his memories started opening up vulnerability points and made him feel fragile.  
  
He turned to his right side and always imagined her laying next to him, sleeping peacefully and saying that one line yet again. Imagining waking up to his one love and the only one he wanted for the longest time, it pained him to wake up every morning without Anya by his side. It pained him that he came home to silence in his own apartment, no one to hug him, to kiss him, to show him the appreciation that he needed every night after having a rough day. Everything he needed was never there and this was a loop he lived in for a long time now, although he will never give up on Anya, not yet, at the least. 

  
  



End file.
